by Emily Curwood
On Wednesday 11th September 44 students currently on a three-month journey on the TS Gunilla, from just outside Gothenburg, Sweden, visited us on their annual trip to PGS. The day began with a brief tour around the school, where we soon realised that their English abilities were almost as good as our own given that, as we later found out, the language is compulsory from the age of nine. Once we had all reconvened in the science lecture theatre each pupil grouped up with a couple of Swedish students to answer questions that they would later be publishing in their own article for social studies; questions were mainly centred around school and British life and, unfortunately, we were asked odd question or two concerning Brexit. After all questions had been answered the school held their 2nd Anglo-Swedish MUN (Model United Nations) Conference, where we gathered in our sub-committees and countries to debate and share our opinions on different topics such as health, crime and sustainability. An hour later an emergency debate was held together with all students from PGS, TS Gunilla and Ryde where the issue of nuclear weapons and warfare was discussed in detail between multiple nations like Russia, Bhutan and Uganda.
Once the conference was finished (or rather once time ran out) we were all treated to an afternoon tea in the sixth form café consisting of quintessential British scones, tea and cucumber sandwiches (which our visitors found slightly peculiar), prompting one girl to ask: “Do you do this every day?”- unfortunately we had to break it to her that the British stereotypes aren’t as realistic nor as practical as many assume.
The following day brought a role reversal where we, the PGS pupils, were given a tour, as we ventured onto TS Gunilla, an imposing tall ship with a fitting silhouette of the Spinnaker Tower looming behind. During our time aboard we were shown the cabins in which the 36 girls and 8 boys, not forgetting the 12 crew members, slept in addition to the kitchen, the navigation room and the lounge area where studies would take place. The inside of the ship juxtaposed its exterior- what had a facade of a grand 1941 tall ship was inside a modern, state-of-the-art navigation hub with high tech equipment and too many enticing big red buttons for its own good. As we toured the ship we were told stories of past experiences, like snorkelling in Granada and sun lounging in Miami, and future endeavours (TS Gunilla’s next stop is Lisbon), while also receiving insights to what school life is like on the water. When you imagine life island hopping around the Caribbean or the Canary Islands you never realise the work that gets done- the students study for 8 hours a day then have multiple shifts throughout the ship, like cooking and navigating, that go on through day and night. Overall I, and I’m sure all the PGS pupils, am very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet the pupils aboard the Gunilla, and to discover the incredible experiences that greet a school life on the ocean.
On Wednesday 11th September 44 students currently on a three-month journey on the TS Gunilla, from just outside Gothenburg, Sweden, visited us on their annual trip to PGS. The day began with a brief tour around the school, where we soon realised that their English abilities were almost as good as our own given that, as we later found out, the language is compulsory from the age of nine. Once we had all reconvened in the science lecture theatre each pupil grouped up with a couple of Swedish students to answer questions that they would later be publishing in their own article for social studies; questions were mainly centred around school and British life and, unfortunately, we were asked odd question or two concerning Brexit. After all questions had been answered the school held their 2nd Anglo-Swedish MUN (Model United Nations) Conference, where we gathered in our sub-committees and countries to debate and share our opinions on different topics such as health, crime and sustainability. An hour later an emergency debate was held together with all students from PGS, TS Gunilla and Ryde where the issue of nuclear weapons and warfare was discussed in detail between multiple nations like Russia, Bhutan and Uganda.
Once the conference was finished (or rather once time ran out) we were all treated to an afternoon tea in the sixth form café consisting of quintessential British scones, tea and cucumber sandwiches (which our visitors found slightly peculiar), prompting one girl to ask: “Do you do this every day?”- unfortunately we had to break it to her that the British stereotypes aren’t as realistic nor as practical as many assume.
The following day brought a role reversal where we, the PGS pupils, were given a tour, as we ventured onto TS Gunilla, an imposing tall ship with a fitting silhouette of the Spinnaker Tower looming behind. During our time aboard we were shown the cabins in which the 36 girls and 8 boys, not forgetting the 12 crew members, slept in addition to the kitchen, the navigation room and the lounge area where studies would take place. The inside of the ship juxtaposed its exterior- what had a facade of a grand 1941 tall ship was inside a modern, state-of-the-art navigation hub with high tech equipment and too many enticing big red buttons for its own good. As we toured the ship we were told stories of past experiences, like snorkelling in Granada and sun lounging in Miami, and future endeavours (TS Gunilla’s next stop is Lisbon), while also receiving insights to what school life is like on the water. When you imagine life island hopping around the Caribbean or the Canary Islands you never realise the work that gets done- the students study for 8 hours a day then have multiple shifts throughout the ship, like cooking and navigating, that go on through day and night. Overall I, and I’m sure all the PGS pupils, am very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet the pupils aboard the Gunilla, and to discover the incredible experiences that greet a school life on the ocean.
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